ORM Techniques to Improve Search Profiles
In over ten years of doing business, we’ve seen many different approaches to reputation management come and go.
The tools and techniques used by reputation management experts a decade ago are irrelevant today, and the landscape has changed dramatically.
We present this list of modern techniques to you so you can better understand what we can do for your online reputation.
Overwhelming SERPs with positive content
A “SERP” is a search engine results page. When content that is damaging to your reputation surfaces in the top search results of a popular search engine like Google or Bing, online reputation management counters it. The most common approach is to create positive content, and a lot of it, and release it online in strategic ways to overwhelm the negative content. This pushes the positive content to the top of search results, effectively burying the damaging content.
Beware of “spray and pray”
A big problem in the reputation management industry is that many (some would say most) reputation management companies use a “spray and pray” technique. They build nearly the same types of content for all of their clients. It’s like using the same recipe over and over again. Search engines see through this because the content isn’t relevant to users. The benefit of this is that it’s cheap, the downside is that it doesn’t work.
Old-style reputation management
Countering negative content used to be as simple as that, but in recent years complexity has been introduced into search engine algorithms such that it takes experts to develop a reputation strategy. Artificial intelligence is one of the main reasons the old-style reputation management and public relations rarely work. Artificial intelligence must be met with human intelligence to win.
Tactics for pushing down search results are part of a larger process that involves research, development, content, publishing, and promotion.
Removing content at the source
While it rarely works, one of the most effective ways to combat content is to reach out to the owner of the content in an attempt to have it removed. We have found success with this method and can negotiate the removal of blog posts, articles, and videos. There are a lot of variables involved though and it doesn’t work with most projects.
If negotiation breaks down or the owner refuses to remove the content, we can also suggest legal methods, suppression, or other avenues. Copyright infringement notices are a good way to achieve content removal directly from search engines but must be good candidates to try. Follow the link below to find out more.
Changing autocomplete
Google’s AutoComplete can be changed to reflect the most searched phrases. This is done by entering appropriate search phrases into the search bar many times over. Eventually, a change is triggered and Google will begin to suggest what we want it to so that it becomes more searched than before. Choosing the right phrases, those that actually help people perform the search, is key to success.
We use a combination of private crowdsourcing, some software, as well as a bit of automation to obtain Google AutoComplete change results. In the past, it was enough to use minimal international crowdsourcing, but because we are diligent about keeping with the times, we have changed our method to produce the best results.
Managing online reviews
Online reviews can crash your online reputation, so we take them seriously. We don’t produce fake reviews. If we cannot get negative reviews removed for terms of service or other violations, we will set up a long-term review improvement plan. The plan is enacted by real people, real customers, and white-hat review management techniques.
